"Keelhaul"

       In the final blog post yesterday on "Naming Rites," it was noted that the sports team nickname chosen by the California Maritime Academy was "Keelhaulers."

       It's a word I'd run into but was unsure of its meaning.  Kevin Baxter thought the name was appropriate for a school with a "nautical mooring."  After all, "What could be more threatening than keelhauling, an often deadly form of punishment."

       As the OED defines "keelhaul," "Haul (a person) through the water under the keel of a ship, as a punishment (obsolete except Historically).  Now also figuratively, rebuke or reprimand severely."